1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to capacitive sensors, and more particularly relates to methods and circuits for precisely measuring the capacitance of a component or circuit.
2. Introduction
While working with capacitive sensors, there often comes a need for a low-cost high resolution circuit to measure the absolute value of the small capacitance with a high degree of precision. The task becomes even more complicated when it needs to be performed with low current consumption, and under changing voltage conditions commonly found in solar cell powered systems, such as the pressure gauge disclosed in U.S. utility patent application entitled “Light Powered Pressure Gauge”, having Ser. No. 11/314,809, filed on Dec. 21, 2005, and having as a named inventor John W. Weiss, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.